“Palemar is innocent,”: ex-minister's supporters hold public meeting in Surathkal

February 13, 2012

Mangalore, February 13: Supporters of the former minister and Mangalore north MLA Krishna J. Palemar rallied behind the beleaguered leader, who relinquished his ministerial position following his alleged involvement in porngate.

At a meeting held in the central maidan of Suratkal under the banner of “Krishna Palemar Abhimanigala Sangha” speakers after speakers defended the former Minister and insisted that he was innocent.

Mayor Praveen, former mayors Shankar Bhat, Ganesh Hosabettu, Rajani Dugganna, corporators Tilak Raj, Sumitra Madhukiran, Santhosh, Sharath, Bhaskar Chandra Shetty, Surekha, Shakuntala, Mahabala Poojary, Aziz Baikampady, businessman P.M.A Razak, Vishwanath Shetty were the prominent participants.

Corporators Revathi, Yasavantha Meenakaliya, Shanta R. Suratkal block BJP president Sharatchandra Shetty and Satyajit Suratkal were conspicuously absent.

Palemar has contributed immensely for the development of the district. The allegations leveled against him of watching a blue film inside the Assembly is completely baseless. He has come up in life the hard way. He responded to the problems of the disadvantaged sections of the society. He will come clean of all the allegations on February 13, the speakers said.

Earlier, speaking at a press meet at Suraj Hotel, Shankar Bhat claimed that Mr. Palemar was not tech savvy and did not know how to operate mobile phone. Even when we call him, it is his secretary who attends the call. We were in Gujrat when the scandal broke and initially his name did not figure in the scandal. But his name was dragged due to political pressure, Mr. Bhat said.

However, he did not give a proper answer when asked about their strategy in the event of Mr. Palemar being disqualified from the Assembly. He also answered in the negative when asked if the corporators would put in their papers to express their moral support to the beleaguered leader.

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Mangaluru–Kasaragod bus fare rolled back after Kerala protests force NHAI to shut Arikkady toll plaza

coastaldigest.com news network

February 5,2026

Mangaluru: The KSRTC Mangaluru division has rolled back the fare hike on buses operating on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route following the suspension of toll collection at the Arikkady toll plaza near Kumbala in Kasaragod district.

The fare revision had been implemented after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began toll collection at the Arikkady plaza on NH-66. As a result, fares for ordinary and Rajahamsa services were increased by ₹7 and ₹10, respectively, raising the bus fare from Mangaluru to Kasaragod from ₹81 to ₹88.

Senior Divisional Controller of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, Rajesh Shetty, said the fares were reduced after toll collection at the Arikkady plaza was stopped. “The tollgate began operations on January 13, and the toll amount was deducted from the FASTag accounts of KSRTC buses operating on the route. Following an order from the central government to suspend toll collection, KSRTC has also withdrawn the additional fare with immediate effect,” he said.

At present, vehicles travelling on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route pay toll only at the Talapady toll plaza. The toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Talapady is ₹80 for a same-day return, while heavy vehicles, including buses, are charged ₹250. At Arikkady, the toll rates were ₹130 for LMVs (same-day return) and ₹450 for buses.

Protests against Arikkady toll plaza

The Arikkady toll plaza witnessed widespread protests from January 12, the day toll collection commenced. On the second day, an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf launched an indefinite protest at the site. Except for the BJP, leaders and workers of most major political parties participated in the agitation.

On the night of January 14, a large number of protesters gathered at the plaza and vandalised property, following which authorities temporarily suspended toll operations. The BJP later also expressed opposition to the toll plaza and criticised NHAI’s decision.

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